Long Before Business Center Controversy, Kansas City Neighbors Fought Over Midtown Costco

For weeks and months, the conversion of the midtown Costco to a business center has been ruffling feathers for Kansas City shoppers and officials. In one open letter to the store, Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley enumerated some common concerns and recalled the history of the site:

“Public dollars, public planning, and public sacrifice helped make this development possible. Families were displaced, homes were demolished, and Kansas Citians accepted significant community impacts because the promise was that this investment would bring jobs, economic activity, and access to essential goods and services to the urban core for everyday people.” 

Public dollars were indeed spent, about $53 million out of a $70 million project budget. So, too, did the project displace families. Roughly 30 acres of land, over 10 square blocks of homes, apartments, and businesses, were cleared for the Midtown Marketplace, the official name of the suburban-style shopping center where Costco and Home Depot operate today. 

While it is not exactly ancient history, many may not recall the site’s prolonged development process and the controversies that plagued it from the start.

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